Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

[GameOn]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Scarfo has had injury issues as I recall. When he committed though I thought people were relatively high on him. Where is he playing this year again?

[Dutchfan]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Scarfo has had injury issues as I recall. When he committed though I thought people were relatively high on him. Where is he playing this year again?

Scarfo is playing for Powell River of the BCHL this season. Powell River is the same program that Carr, the Bodie brothers, Presizniuk, Wakita, and Noah Henry have all played for prior to coming to Schenectady. Ryan has apparently healed up from his injuries as he scored quite a bit (3 G, 2 A in 3 games) during the Beantown Classic earlier this summer.

[ADK11]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Even without Pontarelli, this recruiting class was better than C+/B-. Now with Pontarelli, it's arguably the best recruiting class since the one that just graduated. I know there are some who think this could rival that class in the end... and that one was the most successful in program history.

LOL, I was afraid somebody would ask me where the heck I made up this stuff .. I try to look at how recruiting classes stack up against each other, because in the end, its not just whether you get good players but whether your players are better than players that the other teams in your league get. To me, an average (grade C) recruiting class in the ECAC has 1 high impact recruit and maybe 2-3 that "could be good/very good". Without Pontarelli, I saw Vecchione & Taylor as impact recruits and maybe 3 others as potential G/VG, so overall slightly above average. Meanwhile, Qpac & Yale have classes with potentially 3-4 high impacts and the rest pretty much in the G/VG category. With Pontarelli, I now see 3 high impacts and the others will have less pressure to be top line performers right off the bat, so hopefully will see better development from them. Still I would be hesitant to compare this group too soon to the one that just graduated. I'm very unsure what the potential is for players like Gonye, Lichtenwald, Martin, Krug and Sakellaropoulos. Hopefully you're right and I'm wrong, and this class turns out to be a stellar one.

Also want to caution about expecting too much from Pontarelli right off the bat. Yes, the Spinks did very well at Gate, but the cupboard was pretty bare at forward when they got there so they got 1st line/1st PP status right off the bat. I expect Ponti will have to earn that kind of icetime at U and won't see that right away. He'll also have to deal with bigger players that are nearly his equal skill wise, something he won't have seen as much in Jr. A, and the grind that this takes on the body over the course of a season. I noticed on U's roster that he is listed as 172# and not the 180#+ that he was listed in Jr. A (a typical exaggeration on most Jr./prep rosters, they must weigh them in their pads ). Still, I'm very excited to see him, cause he has skills that you can't coach.

For fear of looking too far ahead it will be interesting to see what other positions are focused on to fill out next years class.

Going forward this year I think the incoming freshman have a good group of returnees to look up to.

Currently have 3 forwards and a d-man to replace graduating one D and 4 Fs. Would expect at least one more forward for '14 and possibly another goalie on the horizon for '15 when both Stevens & Piiri graduate. The '14 class is all about forwards. Ammirato and Scarfo have very good offensive potential, though Ammirato is small (155#s ) and Scarfo is coming off a shoulder separation. Hopefully Scarfo gets strength back in his shoulder (it is a very heal-able injury) and Ammirato gets a little bigger. So far this class looks promising. Very high on Light, who could be really important if both Bodie and Ghost leave after this season.

[rdf8585]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Eyewitness Report on 2014-2015 recruit Ryan Scarfo: http://bit.ly/16tz9PU

[GameOn]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Great piece on Scarfo. Hopefully he can stay healthy this year and continue to develop. The U has gotten some great players from the BCHL...more notably Powell River

[garnetfan]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Perhaps overlooked here is the benefit of an another year of experience for RB and staff, last year had to be a challenge for them with many of the same and new challenges this year.
Team defense from the goal out is the mantra of course but the little things like who will take face-offs in the various situations , the penalty kill and the power play line up etc. will need to be solidified.
Watching Union develop this year will be more interesting since their are more unknowns than last year, so good luck to RB and staff, my prediction is most likely a 4th to 6th place finish league wise
with an outside shot for the top three, nationally we will be in the top 20 still but exactly where I don't know. And of course hats off for the great year last year.

[Wholin1]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Perhaps overlooked here is the benefit of an another year of experience for RB and staff, last year had to be a challenge for them with many of the same and new challenges this year.
Team defense from the goal out is the mantra of course but the little things like who will take face-offs in the various situations , the penalty kill and the power play line up etc. will need to be solidified.
Watching Union develop this year will be more interesting since their are more unknowns than last year, so good luck to RB and staff, my prediction is most likely a 4th to 6th place finish league wise
with an outside shot for the top three, nationally we will be in the top 20 still but exactly where I don't know. And of course hats off for the great year last year.

It's been mentioned before, but one thing that deeply concerns me is the lack of centermen. Asking players to play out of position at this level could be fraught with peril.

[UnionFan4Life]

It's been mentioned before, but one thing that deeply concerns me is the lack of centermen. Asking players to play out of position at this level could be fraught with peril.

I believe Hatch could make an easy transition to center because he is arguably the fastest guy on this team, he would have to learn how to take faceoffs though. This teams lacks a veteran centerman (thanks Jooris) but with Vech, Gonye, Eli, Roy, and maybe Pont as potential centerman there is some excitement.

[Hokydad]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Vech has played center since he was 8. Played center every game at Malden Catholic, where he was Massachusetts high school player of the year. Played wing in ushl because he was more versatile and stronger on the boards than a couple others. It was good for him. He played center a ton down the stretch.

[Wholin1]

I believe Hatch could make an easy transition to center because he is arguably the fastest guy on this team, he would have to learn how to take faceoffs though. This teams lacks a veteran centerman (thanks Jooris) but with Vech, Gonye, Eli, Roy, and maybe Pont as potential centerman there is some excitement.

Don't forget about Novak. BTW, I understand that Jooris was on the ice this week at Messa. Mixed feelings about that if true..

[rdf8585]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Former Union defenseman Nolan Julseth-White re-ups with the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL: http://bit.ly/19Nj4sR

[ADK11]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Other than Novak, the centers on the team are young. Their skill levels should be fine once play gets going, but the main question with me is can they win faceoffs. Novak & Roy weren't great last season in the dot and the underclassmen are unknown. Hopefully one or two emerge that can win big faceoffs, or maybe the coaches will try to convert someone else. The other question is who to put with Carr. Novak developed great chemistry with Hatch & Sullivan last season and isn't the prototypical "distributor" type of center that would ideally fit with Carr like Jooris did , but he has the most experience and on paper is the best fit. Maybe Vecchione can fill this role, but are big skates for a freshman to fill.. though the more I watch video on this kid the more I'm really excited to see how he fits in.

[UnionFan4Life]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

1: Carr---Novak---Wilkins
2: Hatch---Vecchione---Sullivan
3: Ciampini---Pontarelli---Cruice
4: Ikkala---Roy---Coatta

I agree with the person above, the Hatch-Novak-Sullivan line was fun to watch last year, but Novak should start the season as the 1st line center. I also added Cruice and Coatta to the 4th line to add some veteran experience on the team, although I am high on Gonye and Eli. What do you think? Would RB go with veterans over some freshman in the beginning of the season?

[garnetfan]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Food for thought , Pontarelli and Vecchione need a tryout with Carr and Wilkins, I think their creativity and chemistry need to be evaluated , possibly something will click right away. IMHO Novak should remain with Hatch and Sully as the first or second
line. I like Cruice from last year so he's a third liner with Ciampini and either Vecchione or Pontarelli. Ikkala, Roy and Coatta are solid but I think Gonye and Eli need some game time evaluation too.

[rdf8585]

Re: Union Hockey Official off Season Thread: Can U Three Peat?

Former Union standouts Troy Grosenick and Josh Jooris set to compete in the Young Stars Classic:

http://bit.ly/17bDbeM